Aelle
'''King Aelle' (Ælla or Ælle) is the spiteful and vindictive king of Northumbria. Biography History King Aelle of Northumbria, according to some historical accounts, is responsible for the death of Viking hero Ragnar Lothbrok. Shipwrecked on the shorts of Northumbria, Ragnar was captured. Aelle had him thrown into a pit full of venomous snakes. "How the little pigs would grunt," Ragnar is reported to have said, "if they knew how the old boar suffers!" The "little pigs," Ragnar's term of endearment for his sons, did more than grunt. Word of their father's death galvanized them into action. They launched the fourteen-year long invasion of England by the "Great Heathen Army," from 865 to 878 AD. Season 1 Personality King Aelle is an authoritarian and demanding man who does not tolerate failure, having one of his generals thrown into a pit of snakes after losing a minor battle. He is overweight and always stays at a safe distance during battles, which should earn him much disrespect from the Vikings as a people that respect strength and courage. He seems to be a joyful drinker and acts in a both loud and intrusive manner when intoxicated, hugging an uncomfortable King Ecbert in the bath house when shouting praises about the victory over the Norsemen. Politically, he is not as cunning as his new ally and doesn't consider himself obligated to honor any agreements (at least not with pagans), as seen when he offers the Vikings gold to leave but use the empty chests as a way to lure them into a false sense of security before his army attacks. Though not trusting Ecbert initially, Aelle was more than happy to marry off his daughter Judith to Ecbert's son and heir Aethelwulf, not hesitating to reply joyfully when the king of Wessex proposed a wedding between the two families. To explain Aelle's personality further, he typifies the kind of man with lots of guts and nothing else. He, like the above says, carries unreasonable amounts of fat, and selfishly feasts as if food and drink has no value towards the higher virtues of his subordinates, whom require more food than they take. In the show he tends to be highly emotional and manipulative, and relies on charm and his simple mannerisms to get his way and remain as an unqualified king, while the superior minds of Ragnar and his coven remain muted. Trivia * Aelle is alternatively spelled as Aella. * The Icelandic saga, the Tale of Ragnar's Sons and the writings of Symeon of Durham (died in 1129) are the main sources on the Northumbrian King Aelle. * During the Season 1 episode A King's Ransom, Aelle may have been at his villa of Ad Murum (Latin: at the Hadrian's Wall), which was located at the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Monkchester (modern Newcastle upon Tyne), which was close by where the Viking fleet led by Earl Ragnar Lothbrok entered Nothumbria through the Tyne River during his third expedition to England. * Though depicted in the Series as being king of Northumbria in the 790's-early 800's, the real-life King Aelle was alive in the 860's AD some sixty-seventy years later and was king for at least two years. Not enough time to cement permanent dynastic rule before the invasion of the Great Heathen Army. * Though the saga The Tale of Ragnar's Sons mentions King Aelle keeping a snakepit, it would have been highly unlikely to have a number of tropical snakes available in Anglo-Saxon England. Vipera berus, or the Common European Adder, are the only snake species in Britain known to be venomous, though they are tempermentally quite timid and unlikely to attack except when cornered. * Ivan Kaye co-starred in the 2013 film Hammer of the Gods, where he portrays the Viking warlord Ivar the Boneless, the very person credited with the execution of King Aella of Northumbria. Appearances Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Anglo-Saxons Category:Kings Category:Northumbrians